Iranian IRGC Commander Says His Troops Ready for War

ICEJ News Briefs

Hossein Salami , commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) released a statement Wednesday declaring that his country is preparing for a “full confrontation” with its “enemies” even as many voices in the non-IRGC controlled media have been sounding notes of caution, harkening back to the difficult situation in Iran during the war with Iraq in the 1980s. For his part, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday evening that "I'm sure that Iran will want to talk soon," without giving any explanation as to what led to this assessment.

Elsewhere, a senior official in the United Arab Emirates issued a statement Wednesday saying his country was "committed to de-escalation, peace and stability" following a flare-up over alleged acts of sabotage damaged several oil tankers in its territorial waters. Anonymous US sources told media outlets the acts of sabotage were carried out by Iran while Iranian officials blamed Israel, saying the Jewish State was attempting to push Iran and its Arab neighbors into a conflict. Investigators from the US, France and Norway are reportedly on their way to the UAE to carry out a joint investigation with law enforcement agencies from the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

In related news, Saudi warplanes carried out heavy strikes on targets in the Yemeni city of Saana Thursday in apparent retaliation for what Riyadh claims were drone and missile attacks on an oil pipeline late Wednesday by Iranian-backed Houthi factions.

Here is a video giving some analysis of the strategic situation in the Middle East

Earthquake Shakes Up Israel

Residents of Jerusalem and several other cities in Israel’s central and southern districts reported feeling the ground beneath their feet moving on Wednesday evening as the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre reported detecting an earthquake measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale and centered dozens of kilometers off the coast. Residents of Cyprus, Egypt and Jordan also reported feeling the tremor.

Israeli Universities Site of ‘Nakba Day’ Demonstrations

A demonstration under the banner of “Nakbe (Catastrophe) Day” featuring Arab-Israeli students and elected Members of Knesset was held on 15 May near the entrance gate to Tel Aviv University, with similar demonstrations held at other Israeli Universities. Jewish students held a counter-demonstration, with one counter-demonstrator telling journalists "The fact that Israeli universities provide a platform for those who mourn the failed attempt to annihilate the Jews shows the backwards state of Israeli academia."

Here are some videos about studying in English at Tel Aviv University

Beresheet Spacecraft Crash Site Identified by NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued a statement Wednesday evening announcing that they have pinpointed the spot on the lunar surface where the Beresheet spacecraft, sent to the moon by private Israeli company SpaceIL, crashed on 11 April. The statement was accompanied by photographs of the site, provided by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) telescope.